I did a little research and found the following info. Just thought I would share. Ed
Edward I reformed the mints and coins radically in 1279, putting all the mints under the control of one new official: The Master of the Mints. This position was filled by Sir William de Turnemire. During the reign of Edward I many old mints, and some new re-opened, allbeit briefly, to flood the country with the new coinage. In addition to the penny, round halfpence and farthings were stuck in great numbers to negate the old practice of cutting the coins into halves and quarters and the practice fell, very quickly, into decline.
http://www.grunalmoneta.co.uk/history.html
Only the silver penny and a very few half-pennies were in use and sometimes, to make a smaller denomination, penny coins were cut in half (‘hæflings’) or into quarters (‘feorthings’) which became farthings). The double lines of the reverse cross on the Long Cross penny made it easier and more accurate to make these divisions. In 1266 Henry III decreed that the Tower Pound = 12 ounces = 5400 grains was to be the monetary unit in England and it lasted until 1527 (named after the Tower Hill mint in London). The monetary pound was the value of one pound Tower weight of sterling silver, hence the name ‘pound sterling’.
http://www.bsswebsite.me.uk/A%20Short%20History%20of/coins.html
The need for small change was nevertheless extremely acute. A penny, which represented approximately a day’s pay for a skilled labourer, would buy two dozen eggs, two large loaves of bread or at least two gallons of ale. The solution, also adopted from the earliest times, was to cut the penny into halves and quarters. In fact, the voided cross design employed on the reverses of both the short cross and long cross coins was chosen to facilitate this measure.
It is apparent from the large numbers of cut coins found by metal detectorists that the cutting was performed both by mint staff and members of the public. The majority of cut coins have cleanly cut edges, which appear to have been made with an accurately positioned and sharp tool. A minority of them, however, show evidence of less skilled performance. Telltale signs include misaligned and multiple attempts at cutting, and irregular edges resulting from breaking the coin by repeated reverse bending. Such action would have been an obvious remedy whenever ‘official’ small change was not to hand.
http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/Long-Cross-Pennies/Long%20Cross%20Pennies%20P1.htm
Silver pennies were the only coin of the time, and often were cut in half or quarters to create smaller denominations. During this tumultuous period in English history, many irregular coins were struck. Some of the barons were given, or assumed, the right to strike coins in their own names. Typical pennies had a royal bust on the obverse surrounded by a legend with the name, or name and title, of the sovereign. Some baronial and local coinage replaced the bust with a knight standing or on horseback. The reverse of the coin usually had some form of a decorative cross design, and a legend containing the name of the moneyer and the mint where the coin was struck.
http://www.faintich.net/Coins_of_the_Anarchy.htm
